1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video/audio communication, a video communication system, a transmission terminal and a reception terminal, and more particularly to a video/audio communication, a video communication system, a transmission terminal and a reception terminal for mutual audio and/or video communication among plural terminals present in scattered locations on a network.
2. Related Background Art
There is recently developed a video/audio communication system utilizing a computer network and allowing to recognize the status of one or plural distant sites in one site or in mutual manner (for example so-called awareness system). Such video/audio communication system is ordinarily composed by connecting plural computers or communication terminals, each connected to a video camera of which image taking direction and/or image taking magnification is externally controllable and a microphone which is non-directional or has controllable directionality, to a computer network, in such a manner that the image and the voice respectively entered by such camera and microphone can be transmitted to the network.
Also a terminal receiving such image and voice from the network selectively displays and outputs the plural images and voices from plural sites respectively on an image display device and from a speaker.
However, in such conventional video/audio communication system, it has been difficult to identify, in the image transmitting side, by whom the image taken by its camera is observed (by which terminal the image is received and displayed). Such drawback is not limited to the camera but is present also in other resources such as the storage device.
Also in the remote controlling side of the camera, the obtained image lacks the realistic feeling because the input and output status of the voice transmitted with the image does not change at all even when the image taking direction of the camera (by panning and tilting) and the image taking magnification thereof (by zooming) are varied.
An object of the present invention is to resolve the above-mentioned drawbacks individually or entirely and to provide a video communication system allowing the image transmitting side to easily confirm the operator of the camera or the operation status thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a video/audio communication system capable of improving the realistic feeling by varying the voice input and output in linkage with the camera operation.
The above-mentioned objects can be attained, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by a video/audio communication system or a video communication system for video/audio or video communication through a network, comprising information providing means in the image transmitting side, for giving information to the observed person, wherein the information displayed on the information providing means is varied according to the zooming operation of the image input means, whereby the status of operation of the image input means can be easily recognized at the image transmitting side.
Also in such system, the observer of the transmitted image and the operator of the image input means can be readily recognized by the display of at least either of the still icons and the names of such observer and the operator.
Also the status of the zooming operation can be readily recognized by varying the magnification of the display on the information providing means in correspondence with the zooming magnification of the image input means.
An object of the present invention is to resolve the above-mentioned drawbacks individually or entirely.
Another object of the present invention is to facilitate understanding by the image transmitting side, how the resources of its terminal are utilized.
Still another object of the present invention is to facilitate understanding by the image transmitting side, by whom the image taking device of its terminal is operated.
The above-mentioned objects can be attained, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by a video/audio communication system or a video communication system for video/audio or video communication through a network, comprising information providing means in the image transmitting side, for giving information to the observed person, wherein the information displayed on the information providing means is varied according to the zooming operation of the image input means, whereby the status of operation of the image input means can be easily recognized at the image transmitting side.
Also there is provided a system, in which the observer of the transmitted image and the operator of the image input means can be readily recognized by the display of at least either of the still icons and the names of such observer and the operator.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system terminal having novel functions.
Still other objects of the present invention, and the features thereof, will become fully apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which is to be taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.